In prior art information processing systems, there has traditionally been a dividing line between data processing systems and text or word processing systems. The older data processing field developed over the past forty years is directed to information processing the primary purpose of which is to affect the value of the information being processed. The processing involves mathematical and other computational operations such as ordering and sorting which affect the substance or value of the information. In general, data processing is not concerned with format of the information except to the extent necessary to make the information readable or discernible to the operator either through a display or a printout. Otherwise, form is of no consequence.
On the other hand, in the newer word processing or text processing field which has developed over the past ten years, the value or substance of the information is of little consequence. Text or word processing is concerned with the formatting of alphanumeric data into a format or arrangement suitable for specified printed documents which are to be read and discerned by the public, e.g., letters, textbooks, magazines and newspapers.
Because of these substantial differences in functions, text processing equipment has been in general developed and marketed independent of data processing technology. Most businesses which require both data processing and text processing are likely to have independent systems for each function.
In recent years there has been an increasing demand for data processing equipment having at least some text processing capability so that the data processing equipment is capable of producing letter quality information documents in report form or even correspondence. To this end, there has been a trend in the industry to endow data processing systems with at least some word processing functions such as justification. Automated justification which is extensively available in the word processing industry, involves the uniform arrangement of interword spaces on each line so that the spaces are even and that the several lines on a page each end up at approximately the same position.
In traditional word processing systems involving the host processor, a relatively remote printer and a communications channel between the host processor and the printer, the determinations involved in the justification function are usually carried out either entirely within the host processor and transmitted to a printer with virtually no justification determining capability or justification determination is carried out entirely at the printer in a processor which is a microprocessor associated with the printer. In this latter case, the host processor would transmit to the printer over the communications channel only the characters on a particular line grouped as words, and the microprocessor at the printer would do the entire justification determination.
Initially in the word processing industry, justification determination involved distribution of blank space on a line into interword spacing in increments of full character spaces. However, as demands for higher quality formatted printing increased, the distribution of interword space was refined down to the use of increments which were a fraction of a full character space, e.g., 1/10ths of character spaces.
Justification with such fraction of character space increments could be carried out by word processing justification routines on the microprocessor associated with the printer. In addition, word processing equipment had the capability of carrying the entire justification function at the host processor and then transmitting over the communication channel the final character spacing in printer positions which were spaced in increments or of fractions of full character spaces.
In contrast to the performance of the justification in word processing system wherein the entire function is carried out at the host processor level or at the printer level, we have surprisingly found that in adapting the justification function to a data processing printing system, the most effective results are achieved when the justification function is shared between the host processor and the processor associated with the printer. The bulk of communications between a host data processor and a printer would involve data processing information only requiring transmission at full character spacing. Consequently, there would be a substantial amount of inefficiency in setting up a more costly and time consuming communication system capable of transmitting in increments of fractions of full character spacing when such space fractions would only be needed during the limited time the communications would involve the justification function. Thus, carrying out the entire justification function on the host processor would certainly not be too efficient.
On the other hand, if the entire justification function were carried out in the processor associated with the printer, data processing resources already available within the host processor would not be effectively utilized.